.png)
New technologies may create opportunities, but organizations only benefit from them when people understand what the change means for their own work and feel confident putting it into practice.
“Technology alone rarely creates lasting impact,” she says. “The real difference comes when people understand the change, see their role in it, and want to take it forward.
Eveliina Sihvonen is a Manager in the Siili Advisory team, working at the intersection of data strategy, AI transformation, and organizational change. In practice, that means she helps companies figure out not just where AI fits in their strategy, but what needs to shift in their culture, capabilities, and ways of working to make that strategy real. It's a wide mandate and one she has spent years preparing for, sometimes without quite knowing it.
A habit of wearing many hats
What made Siili compelling wasn't just the role, but the timing when it was opened. Siili had redefined its strategic direction and was building a stronger position as a trusted partner for AI transformation, and the Advisory unit was newly founded. Eveliina wanted to be part of that journey from the beginning.
"Already during the recruitment process, it became clear that I would be working with colleagues who would challenge my thinking, give me room to grow, and teach me a great deal — often with plenty of personality included."
She wasn't wrong. What she didn't fully anticipate was the degree of freedom she'd have to help define not just her own role, but the approach Siili takes to AI transformation as a whole. "I have moved from working mainly within established structures to helping create the structures, approaches, and offerings ourselves. That has been both more demanding and more motivating than I anticipated."
One concrete example: the growing client interest in using AI as part of process development rather than just layering a new tool on top of old ways of working. It is about reconsidering how work should be designed in the first place. Eveliina has been building Siili's approach to this challenge together with colleagues from across the company's areas of expertise. Seeing that work land with clients has given her something new. "Not only confidence in delivering good work, but in helping define what the work should become."
The human side is not an afterthought
In her day-to-day work, Eveliina operates where strategy meets the messier reality of organizational change. She's clear about what that requires and equally clear about what the industry often gets wrong.
"One of the most common misconceptions is that AI is mainly about automating tasks and making people work faster." Efficiency matters, she acknowledges, but the more interesting opportunity lies elsewhere: better decisions, personalized services, turning overwhelming amounts of data into something genuinely useful. And doing that in ways people can actually understand and trust.
At Siili, that philosophy is built into how projects are structured. Change leadership and capability development aren't bolted on at the end once the technology is ready. They're part of the work from day one. "Some of the most rewarding moments for me have been when a client conversation shifts from 'which AI tool should we choose?' to 'how do we make sure our people can use this well, responsibly, and with confidence?' That is usually where real transformation begins."
The most delicious hat so far
Ask Eveliina to describe how she works, and she doesn't hesitate. "Relaxed, but almost compulsively structured. I am, after all, a fairly thoroughly marinated management consultant from my Deloitte years." The structured side of her personality also extends to community. When she noticed that Siili's Gourmet Club needed a new lead, she stepped in. Now, four times a year, she organizes shared restaurant experiences across Helsinki for Siilis from different teams to discover each other in a completely different setting. "This may be the most delicious hat so far," she admits.
More broadly, she describes Siili's culture as high trust with plenty of room to take ownership. People are given responsibility early, different strengths and backgrounds are genuinely used, and the social fabric — Friday breakfasts, afterwork gatherings, everyday office conversations — makes it easy to belong. "The office has an almost suspiciously pleasant atmosphere. I have caught myself wondering why I should go home when I am having such a good time with my colleagues."
The luxury of an ordinary Tuesday
Outside work, Eveliina is in a phase she describes with careful appreciation. After years of intensity including buying and completely renovating a home, she is learning to enjoy something rarer than any major project: space.
For her, that means a slightly nicer dinner on an ordinary Tuesday. Porridge dates with a friend before work. Going to the cinema on a weekday. Unhurried time with her partner and family. "I do have a hedonistic tendency," she says, "but my favourite kind of luxury is often quite small and repeatable."
It is perhaps not so different from what she works toward for her clients: not chasing the next tool or the next transformation, but building something that actually fits how people live and work. Something that lasts because people genuinely want to take it forward.
"There is something deeply satisfying about reaching a phase where life feels full without needing to be constantly eventful and I am trying to learn how to appreciate that contentment rather than immediately turning it into another thing to optimize."
Eveliina Sihvonen is a Manager at Siili Advisory, working with data and AI strategy, organizational transformation, and capability development. She is based in Helsinki.
About
